Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell have been singing together for 25 years. And they’ve talked about making a record together for just as long. Under the band name the Pine Hill Project, they have brought that desire to fruition. “Tomorrow You’re Going,” an Americana masterwork of great songs, gorgeous harmonies, and stunning production will be released this year. The album is at turns meditative, joyful, rollicking, and deeply moving, and a one of a kind musical event.

Kaplansky’s and Shindell’s voices have always understood each other. The one instinctively finds its resolution in the other. The simple pleasure of blending these two voices has been a constant for each of them through all the twists and turns or their respective careers. An appearance by either of them would be a highlight of any season; their appearance as a duo is one of the most anticipated shows in Folkus history.

Lucy Kaplansky, hailed by the Boston Globe as the “troubadour laureate of modern city folk,” is a rare vocal talent. Blending country, folk and pop styles, she has the unique ability to make every song sound fresh, whether singing her own sweet originals, covering country classics by June Carter Cash and Gram Parsons or singing pop favorites by Lennon/McCartney and Nick Lowe. Lucy’s iconic voice has been featured in film and on television, including commercials like Chevrolet’s iconic “Heartbeat of America” jingle. A Billboard-charting singer and one of the top-selling artists on Red House Records, she has topped the folk and Americana radio charts and has been featured on shows throughout the world from NPR’s Weekend and Morning Editions to BBC Radio to CBS Sunday Morning. One of the most in-demand harmony singers, Lucy has sung on countless records, performing with Suzanne Vega, Bryan Ferry, Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin. Her most recent release Reunion, a collection of songs about family and friends includes collaborations with Buddy Miller, Jonathan Brooke, John Gorka and Richard Shindell among others.

“The imagery and emotion of Lucy Kaplansky’s original lyrics combine with the power and texture of her sumptuous voice to create an illuminating evening of songs that work their way deep into the heart.” - Freight & Salvage

Richard Shindell is a meticulous craftsman of song whose six studio albums and one live recording have been revered by critics and fans alike. Innovative, original and occasionally spiritual, Shindell’s songs weave tales that interchangeably champion the downtrodden, exalt the disaffected or wax empathetic to those lost to society’s fringes. From his first record, Sparrow’s Point to his most recent release South of Delia, Shindell has demonstrated a penchant for songwriting at once passionate and profound. Shindell's songwriting is truly eclectic, ranging from lighthearted ballads and adulterous love songs, to dirges and diatribes that skillfully skewer politics, prejudice, war and religion. He has a unique ability to morph into the soul of the many and varied personalities he casts as narrators in certain songs--songs that are veritable novellas framed in haunting acoustic melodies, sometimes including cryptic, revelations through the eyes of a woman.

“Shindell is a master builder of songs, yet always leading listeners toward the emotional essence of the moment or character he is evoking.” - The Boston Globe

Pine Hill Project: Advance Tickets thru PayPalPlease read Advance Ticket Policy to learn how it works, and for other advance options. Note: You do not have to have a PayPal account to use PayPal; charge to your credit card.

. . . for providing meals for our visiting performers. The Beer Belly is a fun little Brooklyn-style gastro-pub on Westcott Street (in the former Seven Rays location). They have great ambience, an eclectic menu, reasonable prices, and (last we heard) a Monday night old-time music jam. Please stop by, have some sweet-potato tots and eggplant "wings," and tell them you appreciate their helping Folkus. Yay, Beer Belly.

• Hondo Mesa & Midnight Mike: This duo brings together a guitar and harmonica and follow that with raspy vocals for a taste of Americana, while feeling at home on the ranch or in the blues clubs of the Mississippi Delta. Both musicians come from strong roots in the Central New York music scene. Midnight Mike Petroff is an energetic showman having been a part of the blues group Dirty Pool. Hondo Mesa has supported several bands in Central New York through his independent record label and now returns to the stage as an unsigned artist fronting the Americana influenced blues group.

• Leo Crandall: A founding member and lead singer/songwriter of the Gonstermachers, this Syracuse-based musician also performs as a solo act; primarily on guitar and cello. This Syracuse singer-songwriter blends a fine aching blues voice with an ear for unusual, arrhythmic arrangements.

• Larry Hoyt: Singer/Songwriter, photographer, host of Common Threads on WAER, Hoyt is one of Central New York’s most popular musicians. Hoyt, along with his group the Good Acoustics, play a wide range of music including pop, folk, country, swing, and rock 'n' roll.

Help staff a show. Help manage Folkus. And join a community of Central New Yorkers who love great acoustic music. For info, e-mail volunteer@folkus.org

Other Ways to Help

Bring Baked Goods to a Show! The snack counter at Folkus shows features a mixture of store-bought and homemade goodies, but of course everyone prefers the homemade stuff! If you're a baker, next time you come to a show, bring a plate of cookies, brownies or such. Thanks.

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Cricket Tell the Weather is an indie string band featuring bluegrass-inspired original music. Cricket is rooted in the bluegrass tradition, and expands to include rock, pop, and chamber ensemble elements. The band represents one of the most exciting crews of younger folks in the New York bluegrass scene right now. Along with strong original material, Cricket performs traditional, rock, pop, and Americana material with youthful energy, as well as professional solidity. The quintet's voice carries a new spirit that explores a century of influences, owing as much to the traditions that inspired bluegrass to the journey that follows.

Songwriters Andrea Asprelli (fiddle) and Jason Borisoff (guitar) are well-known to local "freshgrass" fans. They met and played in Syracuse, in the band Atlantic Flyway. Jason was playing in Syracuse bluegrass band Boots N Shorts and Andrea responded to a Craigslist ad they posted looking for a fiddler. They played in Syracuse together for two years before Andrea moved to Connecticut and Jason moved downstate. They are joined now by NYC native Doug Goldstein on the banjo and Jeff Picker (from Portland, OR) on bass.

Cricket Tell the Weather: Advance Tickets thru PayPalPlease read Advance Ticket Policy to learn how it works, and for other advance options. Note: You do not have to have a PayPal account to use PayPal; charge to your credit card.

Singer-songwriter Brooks Williams is just plain good for what ails you. Ranked one of the Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists, Williams writes groove-laden songs and delivers them with an easy-going vocal style and monstrous guitar chops. His songs and vocal presentation are smooth as silk. And on stage his mood and attitude are deeply centered and quick to win over any audience.

Walking the line between blues and Americana, Williams has worked stages worldwide for over 25 years, amassing a staggering back-catalogue of songs, recordings and tales. With nearly 20 CDs to his name – and more on the way – this Statesboro, Georgia, native is, according to americanaUK, “impossible not to like."

Brooks Williams: Advance Tickets thru PayPalPlease read Advance Ticket Policy to learn how it works, and for other advance options. Note: You do not have to have a PayPal account to use PayPal; charge to your credit card.

The Easy Ramblers — Eddie Zacholl (guitar), Maureen Henesey (mandolin), and Dann Mather (bass) — are from the Central New York area, and have quickly become a favorite regional acoustic act. Their music is a mix of originals and hand-picked covers from the likes of Gillian Welch, Allison Krauss, Hot Rize, Peter Rowan and The Infamous Stringdusters. With one listen, you will come to realize there is a special chemistry with the blending of these three creative individuals. They have put together a fine collection that listeners who prefer their bluegrass with a healthy dose of folk and old-time should appreciate. You hear craftsmanship, clever compositions, simplicity. Music that is old and new, fun at the same time, layered with Maureen’s soaring vocal capabilities.

Eliza Gilkyson is a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and activist who has become one of the most respected musicians in folk, roots, and Americana circles. Gilkyson’s music has always offered a vivid reflection of the times we live in, full of joys and sorrows, each song a window into a life of struggle and triumph in a world she feels is “poised on the edge of moral, economic and environmental bankruptcy."

Her latest release, The Nocturne Diaries, was nominated this year for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album; it's a journey through the dark night of the soul that ends at the light of dawn with a sense of gratitude, a renewed commitment to care, and a stubborn little ray of hope. Her CD Land of Milk and Honey was also so nominated. She has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, Sirius/XM, Air America Radio, and has toured as a solo artist and in support of Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Dan Fogelberg. She has been inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame alongside such legends as Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, and Nanci Griffith and has won Folk Alliance awards for Best Artist, Best Songwriter and Record of the Year. Gilkyson was also recently listed as #6 on the Top Artists of 2014 on the FOLKDJ listserve.

Gilkyson will be accompanied by veteran folk instrumentalist Jim Henry. A dexterous guitar master and talented songwriter, Henry has garnered praise for his work with the Sun Dogs, Brooks Williams, and the Burns Sisters, as well as for his solo albums, including Jacksonville.

Eliza Gilkyson: Advance Tickets thru PayPalPlease read Advance Ticket Policy to learn how it works, and for other advance options. Note: You do not have to have a PayPal account to use PayPal; charge to your credit card.

Smart, funny, informative — like Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart with guitars. Emma’s Revolution is the award-winning, activist musicians Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow. With hauntingly beautiful harmonies and powerful acoustic instrumentals that deliver the energy and strength of their convictions, Emma's Revolution writes songs that become traditions. Their music is infused with inspiration from the legacy of music for social change. It is infectiously energizing, imbued with warmth, hope and humor and the power to turn tears into laughter, cynicism into action.

Emma's Revolution: Advance Tickets thru PayPalPlease read Advance Ticket Policy to learn how it works, and for other advance options. Note: You do not have to have a PayPal account to use PayPal; charge to your credit card.

Kattau is a bi-lingual singer/songwriter whose music joins rhythms of Latin America with her own roots in rock and folky jazz-laced compositions. Her innovative poetic lyrics cover a wide and varied range from soulful sensual songs to rise-up-and-change-the-world anthems. Dos XX formed in 2012 with Kattau on vocals, rhythm guitar, & ukelele; Jane Zell on lead guitar and vocals; Connie Walters on percussion and vocals; and Mike Brandt on electric bass. They call themselves "a Latin-fem-folk fusion of bilingual originals and songs in Spanish, French and even a little Arabic." Dos XX blends Zell’s bluesy flair with Kattau’s and Walters’s passion for world music rhythms and vocal stylings to create music that leaps out of the ordinary and gets audiences moving.

Urgent Problems. If you have needs unanswerable by e-mail, call Steve at 315 638 4740. But please exhaust website and e-mail options first. And do NOT call May Memorial UU Society, as they merely host but otherwise have no role in our programming. Thank you.

May Memorial UU Society
First and third Friday of the month
All shows at 8 pm (doors open at 7:30)
3800 East Genesee St., Syracuse / how to get there
(Please do NOT call May with questions; see above.)

Westcott Community Center
Second Saturday of the month
All shows at 8 pm
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., a half-mile east of SU / website / how to get there